Jehovah Jireh

Wow.  We have been so overwhelmed by people’s responses to our April 8 post, “To Change a Life”.  Since that post, we have received pledges from several new monthly contributors to help regularly support the Children’s Home, as well as several large one-time donations to help us through the remainder of this year.  We are humbled and blessed by your response to the needs here, and the sacrifices being made on behalf of the children here in Kitale.  THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!!  You are all an inspiration to us.

About a month ago, God began impressing upon our hearts the need to practice what we preach.  We realized that we couldn’t ask any of you to sacrifice if we weren’t also willing to sacrifice to help the children.  We began looking at our budget to see where we could cut down in order to divert more of our budget to helping the children.  Our biggest expense is our housing, so we decided to start there.  To be honest, I was very resistant to praying and asking God for His guidance as to how we should change our living situation to be able to help the children more.  It was nagging at me day and night and I found myself very irritable and unable to sleep.  What it came down to was fear.  I was afraid to ask God where He was leading us, for fear that it may be to a much more “rustic” lifestyle...and what if it even included a lack of running water or electricity?!?!  I was also fearful that He would lead us to a place where we couldn’t keep our rottweilers.  I know they are “just dogs”, but honestly, we really love them!   

I don’t know why I am such a worrier, especially since God has proven Himself to us time and time again.  And this time was no different.  Before I even handed over my fears, He started revealing a new and wonderful plan for our living arrangement.  Long story short, today we put a deposit on a new house that we will move into on May 25, just in time to finish up our current lease which ends May 31.  The rent is lower than our current rent, and it is on a shared compound, which reduces our cost for the night watchman, which is shared between all the tenants.  It has a small little private yard, that the landlord said we could fence and keep our rotties!  We still needed to find a home for our German Shepherd who needs to RUN miles and miles every day....but God provided for that, too.  A friend called last week looking for a dog needing a home.  Lindy will be going this weekend to another large compound, with a couple who loves dogs and is also getting a new puppy to keep her company.  Because we are going from a two acre property to a “postage stamp” yard, we no longer have need for a full time grounds keeper, eliminating that cost as well.  With this move, we will cut down our housing expenses by 40%!  AND I will still have electricity and running water!  In fact, we are actually gaining space in our kitchen, dining room, and living room...all the spaces we use most to host people for dinners, art class, Sunday afternoon worship, etc.  

I feel like God Himself is wooing us...as if He hasn’t done enough already by providing a way for our salvation.  God is Good.  ALL the time.  

          

Going Kuku!

Kuku is the Kiswahili word for “chicken”, and as of a week ago, we have nearly 200 of them that will eventually be helping us to support the children at KCCCH.  This project started over a year ago, with a lot of research and visitations to other successful kuku projects.  The next phase was fund raising, followed by the planning and building of a top-notch kuku house that would protect our investment from the weather and disease, as well as allow for expansion of the project over time.  The project then had to be put on hold when we took an unexpected furlough from August to December of last year.  Since we have been back, we have been able to build a store room attached to the kuku house, and find and hire a young man, Paul, as our poultry and livestock manager.  And last Thursday, after 3 weeks of delayed deliveries, we finally received our first batch of 203 day old chicks.  

The first few weeks are the most tenuous, with fragile chicks recovering from the transition process, as well as needing to carefully control the temperature of their environment in a land where the electricity is constantly coming and going.  Fortunately, we have Paul, and he is doing a fine job of caring for these future egg layers.  In the first week, we lost only 4 chicks, and each week should be easier and easier.  Paul is on the KCCCH property 24/7 for the first few weeks, checking on the chicks every hour.  He even has a bed IN the kuku house where he sleeps at night, waking every hour to make sure the electricity is still on to run the heaters.  When the electricity goes out, Paul starts up the charcoal heaters, which are much more difficult to control temperatures with.  

Not only are we pleased with Paul’s skills, but we are also pleased to be able to offer him a job.  You see, we believe Paul will be a wonderful mentor and example to our kids at the Home.  Paul was once a street boy, taken in by a local children’s home called Challenge Farm.  When Paul began to significantly struggle in the latter part of high school and wanted to drop out, Challenge Farm offered to teach him the trade of Poultry Management and running a poultry business.  Paul has been working with Challenge Farm’s poultry business for over a year now.  We have been developing our relationship with Challenge Farm, getting our kids together for activities and learning from their administrative staff.  When we indicated we were looking for a new Poultry Manager,  the administration at Challenge Farm highly recommended Paul to us.  He is eager to learn, very tedious about his work, and demonstrates a great attitude towards the staff and children at KCCCH.  We are so excited to have him as part of our staff, and hope the relationship will be mutually beneficial.  

It will take about 4 months for our chicks to reach maturity and begin laying eggs.  We already have a market identified, and should be able to bring in several hundred dollars per month in profit, ON TOP of no longer having to purchase eggs for our kids.  This is just one of our goals in bringing our Home into a place of greater sustainability.  

This project would not have been possible without the financial support of multiple donors who contributed for the building of the kuku house, the store room, and all the supplies needed to get our first batch of chicks “up and laying”.  The money we bring in once the hens start laying, will cover the continued maintenance of the project as well as bring a profit.  We would like to thank each of our friends who contributed to this project, including Christian Relief Fund, Il Faro International Baptist Church, the Barnard family of San Diego, CA, the Northam family of Mbale, Uganda, and the Benson Family of Arlington, WA.  THANK YOU for believing in what we are doing, and helping us to make a difference in the life of these children.  May God bless you richly as you have blessed us!

To Change a Life

What does it take to change a life?  As a missionary to Kenya, I have come to Africa to do just that.  Having lived in the promised land of America for 40 years, I am no stranger to the appeals from various aid agencies and their promises that for just a dollar a day, you too can change the world.  Only now, I live in Kenya and I see the needs of people every day and I can tell you, it takes more than a dollar a day.  I know people in America have needs too, but here the needs are just so big, so obvious, so in your face.  Like the glue boy Joseph who staggers over to greet me whenever I drive into town.  He is missing several teeth, his eyes twitch back and forth, his clothes are in tatters and it looks like he has just crawled out of a muddy ditch because that is where he slept.  He knows me well enough to know that I won’t give him cash because I know he will use it to buy shoe glue so he can huff it.  I know this because he is never without his glue bottle.  If the glue bottle is not dangling from his lip, it is stuffed up his sleeve.  He says “Hi, I’m Joseph!” as if he hadn’t told me his name a hundred times before and thrusts out his filthy hand for me to shake. “Buy me bread,” he slurs and then he offers to watch my truck while I head off.  The wheel wells in the bed make a handy seat and he jumps in.  

As I walk on to do my errands for the day, in the back of my mind I’m having a debate with myself.  Do I buy him any bread today?  Do I have him pick some trash off the littered streets and deposit it in a waste bin?  Or do I say as I usually do, “Sorry Joseph, not today.”  I don’t want to continue to enable his choice to live on the street and panhandle, so sometimes I tell him about one of the ministries in Kitale for street kids.  But Joseph has already heard about that and doesn’t want to give up his “freedom”.  What about the other hundred plus kids living on the streets of Kitale?  You see it doesn’t matter what you came here to do, there is always someone who is trying to make themselves your agenda.  “But what are you going to do for me?” they plead.  

What about the 50 kids at the Children’s Home I came to serve or the 28 staff of the Children’s Home and Bahati Academy?  I have to focus on them.  They each have their own story, their own needs.  Felix, a senior in high school, wants to finish high school.  He is struggling, but close to the finish line.  He has made some mistakes, but a high school diploma is his best chance at a future.  Lena didn’t qualify for high school so opted for a trade school and she is doing remarkably well.  She is in beauty school and already earning money and excited about her future.  She returns to Nairobi next month to attend additional courses in working with NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations).  She hopes to be an advocate for orphans, especially those with HIV.  I think she’ll do a great job.  

High school is not free in Kenya.  The average cost of sending a student to high school or trade school is $70-100 per month, depending on whether the student attends day school or boarding school, and the day school options are very limited in Kitale.  We have 13 students in high school or trade school right now.  That puts our need for next term secondary school fees at about $3900.  I have to bank the fees in full by the end of April so kids can go back to school for second term.  But according to the Children’s Home bank account, that just isn’t going to be possible.  

As a comparison, the Children’s Home receives a total of $3500 per month in regular support that is meant to cover ALL our expenses.  After paying our staff the required minimum wage (and believe me, they deserve MUCH more than what we are able to pay them!), we have approximately HALF of our total income left to take care of 50 children.  This means we have about $35 per child which is supposed to provide food, water, clothes, shoes, school uniforms and supplies, an education, and medical care.  If you do the math, it doesn’t add up.  And next February, we will have five more kids starting high school or trade school.  I pray that the kids we are helping at the Children’s Home can get a good education so they can eventually find work to sustain themselves.  I don’t want to drive into town and see the faces of kids from my own Home begging on the streets because they didn’t get to finish school.  

One of my favorite quotes that has followed me from my childhood says,

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It's not.”   ~Dr. Suess, The Lorax

I’m thankful that I know somebody who cares “a whole awful lot”.  His name is Jesus.  He cares about you enough to die for you and He also cares about how you care for others.  He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: even as I have loved you, so you also are to love one another.” John 11:34

I’m hoping there are a whole lot of someone’s out there who will be touched by this urgent need.  But don’t wait for someone else or some other day.  You can be the one today.  Thanks for your help.  Thanks for being someone who cares.

For the love of God and His children,

Jason Beagle, Administrator

Kenya Church of Christ Children’s Home

Another Amazing Provision

Today I hosted my second group of kids for our new art class.  I am so excited because the day after my last blog about starting this class, I was contacted by my BFF back in the states, who had gone to Missions Sunday at her church, and met an artist , Marcia Carole, who already does what I am trying to do with our kids.  You can read more about Marcia’s awesome work on her website:  http://thecreativecall.net/art-and-story.php.  I have connected with Marcia via email and already received great information from her about how to get started in my new endeavor.  She is currently on a mission trip to Turkey, helping women heal through art, so I hope to skype with her shortly after she returns.

The group I had today was great!  I had 11 boys, who remained engaged with me for over an hour!  They created some really cool art that we will eventually use in collaging.  Marcia has taught me that collage can be a really good way for novice artists to express themselves, so I have spent the last week cutting up every used magazine I could get my hands on.  I have a good collection started, but could use some more variety, especially once I start the collage process with our 50 kids.  

If anyone would be interested in helping with this project, PLEASE take some time to cut up any old magazines you have lying around and send them to me.  This is a great activity to do in front of the TV.   I am looking for any pictures, words, art, or headlines that could possibly be used to express a whole myriad of emotions.  For example, I have cut out pictures of a key, flowers, lightning, a volcano, a wildebeest getting taken down by a croc, a bomb, smiley faces, clouds, etc.  I also have found a few people pictures, but I am trying to stay away from “white” people, so the kids can connect with the pictures better.  I have cut out words and headlines such as, “Smile”, “Crisis!”, “charge!”, “how to cope”, “family”, “Time for something new”, “Saved my life”, “the power of friendship”, “worst nightmare”, etc.  Even artistic backgrounds of various colors that might depict “cheerfulness” or “foreboding” (or any other positive and negative emotions) would be helpful.  THANK YOU for taking time to help me help these kids express themselves so they can begin to heal as we speak Truth into their lives and pray with them.  

Magazine cut outs can be put in an envelope (preferably with a piece of cardboard to keep them flat) and mailed to:

Amy Beagle

P.O. Box 4153

Kitale, Kenya 30200

Now, off to start creating my own story in collage so I can set the example of opening up when it's scary....

ARTiculation

We’ve been back in Kenya for nearly two months now, getting resettled, catching up on work that was set aside while we were away, and trying to reconnect with our kids here.  We have had a busy few months, repairing damage sustained in the boy’s dorm fire in December; teaching the kids about fire safety; gathering annual updates, letters, and photos on our nearly 200 kids in the CRF sponsorship program; pursuing the re-registration of the Home; counseling students who are starting their post-primary education this year; getting our older students off to boarding school to begin the new school year; and studying the new Education Bill that was passed towards the end of 2012 to determine what changes we need to make within our education policies at the Home.  Whew!  It’s no wonder we are so tired!

With all of the administration tasks we are engaged in, we are having difficultly finding time to engage and connect with our kids at the Home.  But we know that mission without discipleship will not bear everlasting fruit.  Fortunately, the Kenyan Ministry of Education has now banned Saturday school, so our kids are now free on Saturdays to spend time with us.  This has enabled me (Amy) to begin a Saturday art class that has been on my heart for quite some time.  My goals for this art class are much bigger than exposing the kids to color, texture, and various mediums.  My true goals are to connect on a more personal level with the kids, help them to know God as The Creator and Lover of their souls, and to give them a way to express themselves and the many emotions they carry inside.  

We have come to realize that expression of emotion is not encouraged in Kenya, especially among children.  So our kids haven’t had much practice articulating what is going on inside of their hearts and minds.  And there is a lot going on in there!  With all of the trauma, abandonment, and abuse that our kids have lived through, they have much bottled up inside.  Without being able to express themselves and share their hearts, healing is limited and wounds often resurface in the form of challenging behaviors.  I believe that art and creating is one avenue through which some of our kids may be able to learn to express themselves, and thus experience healing of long-standing wounds.  

Last Saturday, I hosted our first group of 12 girls.  I shared with them, as I will now share with you, why it can be so thrilling to Create:

Sometimes I create in the garden.  I love digging my hands down into a patch of soft dirt and arranging plants by height, leaf color, and texture.  After many days of laboring, watering, and weeding, I have a place of peace to relax and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.

Sometimes I create with fabric.  I get excited when I find fabrics that fit together in color, style, and pattern.  After many hours at my sewing machine, I have a quilt that I can snuggle under on a cold, rainy day.

Sometimes I create with paper.  I find great satisfaction in creating a special card for a friend that reflects her personality.  I love to be able to give her that gift with a special note inside telling her what I appreciate most about her.  

So creating is two-fold for me:  First, I find joy in the process of taking various parts and pieces, and binding them together into something beautiful.  Then, I find satisfaction in using or enjoying the creation I’ve made.  Each thing I’ve ever made started with a plan in mind...an end goal, a purpose for creating it.  

It’s no wonder I enjoy creating so much.  After all, I was created in the very image of the most artistic, masterful Creator of all time.  

Genesis 1:27 “God created people in His own image.  God patterned them after Himself; male and female He created them.”

God, the Creator of the vast universe, as well as every beautiful flower and butterfly, made YOU.  And He made you in the image of Himself.  In Psalm 139, David says, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.  Thank you for making me wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous--and how well I know it.”

First, God enjoyed the process of creating you.  Now He delights in the end goal, the creation: the person of you!  He is your Loving Father, and He desires a deep and personal relationship with you.     

God did not just create you randomly.  He calls you His masterpiece!  Ephesians  2:10 says, “We are God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”  A masterpiece is an artist’s very best, most important work.  God did not create you simply because He was bored and needed a way to fill His time.  No, He created you for an important purpose...to do the good things He planned for you.  

And the things He planned for you are different from the things He planned for your brother, or your sister, or your spouse, or your child.  He had a very specific purpose in mind when He created you, so you were uniquely created to serve that purpose.  Every single part of you, from the way you look to your innermost being was created with His purpose in mind.  No one else in the world can do the work that God has planned for you.  

So we each have a choice to make:  You can choose to pursue your own plans and purposes for your life; or you can choose to let Him guide you and empower you to do the good things He planned for you, the things that He can only accomplish through you.  Do not take this decision lightly, because following Him is not without cost.  But if you decide to join God on this incredible safari, I can promise He will not disappoint you.  It is my prayer that you will decide today to allow God to use you in the plans and purposes He designed you for.